How To Build Perseverance (In Small Ways)

What separates those that get what they want, and those that don’t, is will they persevere through thick and thin?

The world will throw many obstacles at us, and it is those of us who go through and keep going, despite the obstacles, that will make it in the end.

Again easy to say, and difficult to do, because if there’s something that I notice with myself, and many others, it’s this:

We give up too easily.

How do you build perseverance, and in small ways?

Make a process

One way to build perseverance, is to focus on an action, or an activity, that you want to be doing continuously, and then to create a process to keep you doing that activity.

To recover from my back injury, I had to keep stretching.

But, I hated stretching.  And it was tough, and at times, painful.

But if I wanted to be able to walk normally again, I ad to do it.

What I did, was put the list of exercises and their drawings beside my bed, so that when I wake up first thing in the morning, it’s the first thing that I would be doing.

Make a list of the crucial activities, or even a checklist, of what you need to be doing. One reason is that it will give you perseverance by focusing on what’s the next step, and not on your doubts and fears in the moment.

To start exercising, I focused on doing one push-up per day, when I woke up.

That alone didn’t give me the results.

But getting used to the activity, and trusting in the process of continuously doing the actions required, even when there’s no instant results, helped give me perseverance when I felt confused, hopeless, or frustrated.

Focus on getting the action done.

Create and trust in a process.

 

Take the thinking out of the equation

It’s good to plan.

It’s bad to plan too much.

To have an easier time to build perseverance, front-load the thinking.

What I mean to say is that you’re doing the planning and thinking beforehand, and at significant steps and milestones, and not all the time.

When you keep thinking, or think on the fly, many distractions can creep in and kill the perseverance.

When you don’t see results, you may give up, because you’re just taking the action by itself, on its own.

Look at what you’re doing with a long-term view.

I find that when I think about how important what I’m doing is for long-term success, I’m less likely to discount what I’m doing now, and more likely to follow-through and do what it is that I said I would.

How then does this happen?  Prepare beforehand, and create a process.  Do the thinking beforehand.

And in the moment of necessity, focus on one thing – doing.

What’s the why?

What makes this so important for you to persevere?  Or to persevere through?

All of us are driven by what we see is important or unimportant – our perceptions and interpretations.

And that’s a good thing.

If there’s something we believe that is important enough for us to persevere through, then that is what will come true.

If we do all that we want and need, what will happen?  What’s the upside?

If I don’t persevere, and slack off, what will happen?  What are the consequences?

Get clear on your why – Why are you doing this, and why is it important to persevere?

Keep yourself accountable

Pick one person you trust, and you know will accept and support you.

Tell that person your goal, and your plans, and ask for that person’s support.

It can be done through reminders, catch-up meetings and messages.  Asking for updates and progress, also works.

Putting something significant at stake, can also be motivating.

I remember there was a time where, to power through a goal, a coachee of mine gave 200 dollar checks to a good friend of his.

Whenever he’d fall short of a milestone and deadline, his friend would get to cash in the check.

He never missed a milestone, and deadline.

Raise the stakes, keep yourself accountable.

Especially to yourself, your why, and your goals.

 

Persevere, persevere, and persevere.

Life is not a sprint – it’s a marathon.

Be in it for the long haul.

Persevere in the face of all the obstacles – it’s the only way to get through, and get to where you want.

 

What tactics do you use to persevere?  Please share in the comments below!